Bulls' Jackson: Hollins' Officiating `Brutish'

Bulls head coach Phil Jackson ripped into NBA official Hue Hollins on Monday, calling the referee's performance during last Saturday's game against the Dallas Mavericks "brutish" and "irresponsible."

Jackson said that Hollins brought an anti-Bulls "attitude" and "antagonism" to the United Center, and that Hollins unloaded those feelings on Bulls forward Scottie Pippen. Dallas beat the Bulls 124-120 in overtime.

Monday's episode is the newest, and the most blunt, chapter in an ongoing spat between the Bulls and Hollins that dates back to last season. In May, Hollins called a controversial foul on Pippen that contributed to the Bulls' loss in Game 5 of their playoff series with the New York Knicks.

Although Jackson has upbraided officials before, Monday's remarks were his most scathing. It appeared that Jackson wanted to talk about Hollins because he addressed the issue during four separate questions.

On Saturday, Jackson said, Hollins called an unwarranted technical foul on Pippen less than three minutes into the game. Jackson said that Hollins also whistled several inappropriate personal fouls against Pippen, giving Dallas forward Jamal Mashburn an unfair advantage that helped him score 50 points.

"There was a lot in that game that didn't meet the eye," Jackson said during his regular news conference at the team's practice facility in Deerfield. "I thought the way Hue Hollins started calling the game was really irresponsible on his part.

"I just thought he came with an attitude to our (game) on Saturday that helped take Scottie out of position. I thought Scottie had position on three offensive fouls that ended up being three three-point plays for Mashburn."

On Monday, an NBA official said that Hollins could not respond to questions about the game. The league's chief of officiating, Darell Garretson, could not be reached to comment.

But the NBA frowns upon public attacks against its referees by team personnel, and the league has previously disciplined Jackson for such remarks. Rod Thorn, the NBA's vice president of operations, who oversees referees, would not comment on Monday's news conference until the league completes an investigation.

Such an investigation could be initiated this week, Thorn said.

"If, in fact, (Jackson) did make a derogatory and/or inflammatory remarks about an official, then we will take action," he said. "We take that very seriously, and that is not allowed."

Jackson insisted that the Bulls have been careful not to complain publicly about the foul against New York or to embarrass Hollins, but the situation escalated last month.

On Oct. 12, Garretson said that Hollins blew the Game 6 call on Pippen. Jackson implied on Monday that a Chicago Tribune story by beat reporter Melissa Isaacson, in which Garretson's statements were reported, contributed to Hollins' officiating Saturday.

Jackson noted that Hollins summoned Isaacson to the referee's dressing room before Saturday's game and then yelled at her for printing "what Darell Garretson reported to her."

"And then when she tried to respond back to him, he slammed the door in her face," Jackson said. "So that told me that all of a sudden he had an attitude about the game before it even started."

Hollins, officiating his first game in Chicago this season, was booed by some fans during pregame introductions on Saturday.

Hollins whistled the technical foul after Pippen complained that Mashburn had illegally bumped into him. Jackson said that Hollins also "embarrassed (Pippen) another time with a three-second call in the lane when he was out of position to make the call."